Sitting with Franklin resident Howie Klausner is like meeting your new best friend. A scriptwriter, producer, director, and filmmaker, he is as laid back as his Nashville roots. The self-described “encourager, hopeful, and optimistic guy” just released his newest screenplay, Reagan, starring Dennis Quaid. However, his start in the industry was challenging.
Moving to California to attend film school, with hopes of becoming an actor and writer, Howie became discouraged. He experienced a few walk-on opportunities and wrote 12 screenplays and yet nothing significant happened. Fast forward a few years: exasperated, Howie said, “That’s it, I quit! I get the message from the universe.” He and his wife, Heather, “the two brokest artists in Southern California,” decided to travel to Europe before Howie started his new job - teaching at the Orange County Correctional Institute. Right before boarding his flight, Howie’s friend Ken Kaufman convinced him to review an outline for a script. “It wasn’t very good but it just kind of hit me. By the time I arrived in London, I had the outline for what would become Space Cowboys. Ken and I co-wrote the screenplay at Bongo Java in Nashville.”
Despite being told not to, Howie asked to shadow actor, producer, and director Clint Eastwood throughout filming. “I just showed up each day and after a while, he started giving me little master-apprentice nuggets. I thought I knew how to make a motion picture but the year and a half I spent with Clint Eastwood is where I really learned.”
Howie has continued to write, direct, and produce additional films including Soul Surfer, The Last Ride, The Grace Card, The Identical, and The Secret Handshake (which was filmed in Franklin). Howie chuckles, “It sounds so much more glamorous than it actually is.” Space Cowboys also made having a family a reality and, despite the fear of “career suicide,” in 2004, the Klausners returned to Tennessee to raise their family.
Clint Eastwood’s sage advice, “Do things that mean something for you,” resonated with Howie, and he soon turned his attention to stories and characters. Speaking of his newest movie, Reagan, Howie states, “Real life in America right now is a trailer for this movie. It is not a Republican movie - or even a political movie.” Exploring Reagan’s childhood, his romance and relationship with Nancy, and his Presidency, Howie continues, “It is about a guy finding a purpose in life. Everyone has a story, suffered heartbreak, and failed. There is always darkness in great stories. It is about overcoming. Telling stories and my love of characters – this is why I got into movies.”
Several upcoming projects include a love story starring a special needs family set against the world of professional golf to be filmed in Nashville, a movie based on Peter the Apostle to be shot in Morocco next year, and his final screenwriting and bucket list project, Handel’s Messiah. He is also writing a book covering lessons learned from his time with Clint Eastwood.
With the release of Reagan, Howie states “I’ve had a good run [writing] but I am now focusing on producing. I feel like I am just getting started!” How lucky for us!
Reagan is playing across the country and locally at AMC DINE-IN Thoroughbred 20.